Shutter-operating device.



P. j. MARKS. SHUTTER OPERATING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 27, I916- Patentefi Feb. 6, 1917.

T immw Z@.f W 519 x 12 12 {26 PAUL J. MARKS, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YQRK,ASSIGNQR T6 EASTMAN KQIDAK QQMEANY, 0 ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION033 NEW YORK.

SHUTTER GlPERATING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters fi'stent.

Patented lies {5, 191% hpplication filed J 11132 27, 1916. Serial No.111,522.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, PAUL J. Menus, oi? Rochester, in the county ofMonroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Shutter- @perating Devices; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description. of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thisspecification, and to the reference-numerals marked thereon.

My present invention relates to photos raphy and more particularly tophotographic shutters and to the devices for ope-rciting the latter at adistance which cornprise flexible outer and inner tubes connect ed,respectively, to a stationary part and a trip or movable part of theshutter to take the piece of a bulb actuator.

The invention has for its object to impr'ovecertain features ofconstruction in devices of this kind for the purpose of obtainins;vrelative adjustment of the inner meniloer and its tube and. forretaining the two members in such position when desired that theshutter: will be locked open.

To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvementsand combinations of parts all as will he hereinafter more fullydescribed, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the endof the specification.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is is general view of a shutter actuatorconstructed in accordance with and illustrating one embodiment of myinvention; Fig. 2 is en enlarged elevation of the finger portions of thedevice in the positions occupied when the shutter is closed; Fig. 3 is asimilar view showing the positions of the parts when the shutter isopen; Fig. i is e further enlarged section through the portion of thedevice shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a section taken substantially on theline 5-5 of Fig. 2 with the inner finger piece unlocked, and Fig. 6 is asimilar View with the inner finger piece locked.

Similar reference numerals throughout the several views indicate thesome parts.

The present embodiment of the invention is designed more particularlyfor the requirements of professional photography and studio work and lhave shown in Fig. l a portion of a studio shutter to which thereleasing device is orieratively attached and in that figure, 1indicates the stationary moved longitudinally an inextensible butlaterally flexible inner member 5 that may be in the form of a wovenchain, as indicated in Fig. 4. ()nc end of the outer memher 5 isprovided with a metal tip iwhich may be removably attached by a clip 8to the shut ter casing 1 in a position in which it is prevented frommoving longitudinally in. either direction, while the other end the tubeis connected to athreaded sleeve 9. Over this sleeve is threaded ucoupling'sleeve 10 which is also in turn threaded in a permanentposition on a tubular fingenpiece ll terminating in a button or head 12.The coupling sleeve 10 may be adjusted up and down on the terminalsleeve 90f the tube vfor purposes that will hereinafter appear and it isheld locked in its adjusted position by a nut 13 else threaded on thetube 9. An extension or skirt 14: on this look nut 15 projects ovcrsndsurr unds the end of a braided cloth covering 15 for the tube 5 which iscemented to or otherwise secured upon the sleeve 9., the skirt thuscovering and protecting the joint though it is free to slip over thesurface of the said coverirw l5.

ilhe end of the inner member or flexible chain c that is adjacent to theattached end of the tube 5 is connected to the shutter lever 2, as shownin Fig. 1., so that a pull on the chain will open the shutter againstthe tension of the spring 4. The other end of the chain 6 es shown inFig. i is connected to e tubular slide block 18 within the finger-piece11, and this slide block is moved up and down within the saidfinger-piece through ders formed by ennular recess 2G in the a blockiii. Normally, the outer finger-piece "i8 is held at the loweredposition of Figs. l,

till

2 and t with reference to the inner fingerpiece 11 by the influence of acompression spring 21 Within the latter, one end of which bears againstthe abutment 12 while the other is seated within the tubular portion ofthe block 16.

In the operation. of the device as thus far described, to open theshutter the outer finger-piece 18 is straddled by the first and secondfingers and pressure is applied by the thumb upon the button 12 of theinner finger-piece 11, the said pressure of the thumb being a reflexpressure by which the fingers draw the outer finger-piece 18 up to theposition of Fig. 3. The inner slide block 16 is drawn with it whichexerts a pull on the inner member or chain 6 that rocks the lever 2 ofthe shutter. The reflex of this pull is borne by the push of the thumbagainst the button 12 through the incompressible tube 5 to the shuttercasing 1 at 8 so that the strains upon the shutter structure as a wholeare balanced and there is no tendency to move or even jar the shutter orthe photographic apparatus to which it is attached. Upon releasing thefinger-pieces they resume the relative positions ofFigs. 1, 2 and 4:under the influence of the spring 21 and the inner'member or chain 6 iswithdrawn from the tube 5 by the spring 4: of the shutter lever 2 as thelatter moves to closed posi tion. It will be'noted that the shoulderprovided at 22 by the upper end of the coupling sleeve 10 acts as a stopfor limiting the return movement of the outer finger-piece 18 as clearlyshown in Fig. 4:.

From the foregoing, 1t will be at once recognized that the ad pustableconnection between the inner finger-piece 11 and the ter minal sleeve 9of the tube 5 afiorded. by the provision of the sleeve 10 permitschanges in the normal relative positions of the inner and outer members5 and 6 so that the extent, for instance, to which the inner member orchain 6 may be withdrawn from the tube 5 for attachment to the shutterlever 2 in the latters normal position may be varied without afiectingthe full stroke of the fingerpiece 18 upon the finger-piece 11. In otherwords, the travel of the-finger-piece 18 on the finger-piece 11 isalways the same and the throw of the lever 2 also remains constantwhether the inner member 6 makes its attachment to the lever 2 at a nearor remote point from the mouth of the tube 5 within certain limits.

For the longer time exposures, not automatically timed, as in a studioshutter, it is sometimes. desirable and convenient for the operator tohave the finger-pieces retain their actuated positions as in Fig. 3,without the necessity of sustaining the pressure of the fingers uponthem. For this purpose, I provide a simple means for locking thefinger-pieces in the position of Fig. 3 against the tension of thereturning spring 21 and this means comprises, in the present instance, apivoted latch 23 that turns on a pivot screw 24 secured in the top'faceof the outer fingenpiece 18 on one side of the inner finger-piece 11.This latch lever embraces the inner finger-piece 11 for which purpose itis provided with a laterally elongated inner opening 25 and on theopposite side of the inner finger-piece 11 the latch. lever extendsvertically and then laterally of the moving parts toprovide a thumb grip26. The lever is of resilient material and the vertical portion isprovided with an inwardly extending engaging spur or member 27 while thebutton 12 of the inner finger-piece 11 is pro:

vided with a locking shoulder 28 formed by an annular groove in thebutton, said shoulder being provided with an inclined or cam surface 29on its under side.

When the latch lever 23-isin the position of Fig. 5, the engagingportion 27 thereof is out of the path of the shoulder 28 but when thelever is moved laterally to the position of Fig. 6 it isin the path ofsaid shoulder. Therefore, by, setting the lever '23 in the position ofFig. 6 and pressing the two lmgenpieees together for the full stroke,-the engaging portion 27 of the latch will be deflected by the cam 29 andsnapped into enga' emen't with the shoulder 28 looking the linger-piecesin the positions of Fig. 3 and holding the shutter open for any desiredlength of time. When it is desired to close the shutter or to allow itto close, a simple movement of the operators thumb on the thumb-piece 26to move the latch lever 23 to the position of Fig. 5, releases theportion 27 from the shoulder 28 and allows the finger-pieces to separateagain. under the influence of'the spring 21. Preferably, the outerfinger-piece 18 is provided with a central raised boss 30, as shown inFig. 4.- to act as a guide working in the slot for the lever 23 andprevent the letter from engaging and interfering with the free movementof the inner finger-piece 11 relatively to the finger-piece. 18.

Lclaim as my invention:

1. In a shutter operating deviee,'the combination with inner and outerflexible mem bers, one of which. is inextensible and the otherincompressible, of a finger-piece for each member, said finger-piecesbeing slidable upon each other and one of them carrying a stop engagedby the other to deter mine their normal relationship, a spring foractuating the finger-pieces, relatively, to the said position of normalrelationship and an adjustable connection between one of the members andits finger-piece for varying the normal relationship of the members.

2. In a shutter operating device, the combination with inner and outerflexible members, one of which is inextensible and the otherincompressible, of a finger-piece for each member, said finger-piecesbeing slidable upon each other, and an adjustable a threaded portion onthe other cooperating therewith.

3. In a shutteroperating device, the combination with inner and outerflexible members, one of which is inextensible and the otherincompressible, of a. finger-piece for each member, said finger-piecesbeing slidable upon each other, and an adjustable connection between oneofthe members and its finger-piece for varying the normal relationshipof the members, comprising a threaded coupling sleeve on one part and athreaded portion on the other cooperating therewith, said couplingsleeve also serving as a stop to limit the relative movement of thefinger-pieces.

4. In a shutter operating device, the combination with a flexibleincompressible tube, an inextensible flexible member operating thereinand finger-pieces for the tube and member, respectively, slidable onewithin the other, of asleeve at one end of the tube, a covering for 'thelatter attached to the sleeve, a threaded couplin connecting the innerfingerpiece and the eeve and threaded upon the latter for relativeadjustment of the normal positions of the inner member, and a nut't'readed on the sleeve to abut and lock the coupling and having a skirtoverlapping the end of the covering on the tube.

5. In a shutter operating device, the combination' with inner and outerflexible members, one of which is inextensible and the otherincompressible, of a finger-piece for each member slidableone within theother, the outer one being of greater diameter and the inner one beingprovided with a locking shoulder, and a catch mounted on the outerfinger-piece and, having an engaging portion movable laterally intocooperation with the said locking shoulder on the inner finger-piece.

. PAUL J. MARKS. Witnesses:

M. JOSEPH SULLIVAN, EDITH WATERSTRAAT.

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